Countess of Serenno
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: So, everyone is talking about Rey Palpatine, which would be interesting and yet... bland. Here is an idea I came up to give Rey a much more surprising lineage that could tie her even closer to Ben, in a non-incest way (Reylo or die!) Anyway, read, review and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Grandparent Somebody

**Chapter 1: Grandparent Somebody**

Poe Dameron inserted the final plug into C3PO. Ran the final diagnostic tests. He turned to the golden droid. "Are you ready, buddy?"

"Go ahead, Commander Dameron," the protocol droid assented.

The leaders of the Resistance had traveled to the icy and rocky planet of Kijimi to track the location of a second Wayfinder. Kylo Ren was after another one, so they had to find this second object first. But in order to do that, they needed to translate the inscription on an ancient Sith dagger. Though C3PO, by his own admission, was fluent in over six million forms of communication, ancient Sith was apparently not one of them. Uploading another droid's memories into Threepio might do the trick.

On this hope, Poe threw the switch. All at once, C3PO straightened and his eyes glowed a bloody red. Poe retreated, throwing his arms out. "We may want to... stand back."

Holding up the dagger, C3PO translated the dagger inscription into Basic: "The Second Wayfinder will be found at a phyrric Sith defeat. Where a Son of Light will have defeated a Father of Darkness."

"Endor," Poe breathed, deciphering the answer immediately. "The Death Star II ruins on Endor."

C3PO peered closer at the blade. "This dagger is the property of the House of Serenno."

Finn scoffed, "What kind of idiot writes a 'This Belongs to' clause in Sith on a dagger?"

"Probably because it's valuable," Jedi Knight Rey of Jakku shrugged. "See the jeweled handle?"

All at once, the droid factory they were in began to rumble. The group looked up in concern, even as Threepio suddenly leapt out of his chair and aggressively wrested Chewbacca's bowcaster away from him. "Where are the scum? Let me at them!" The sight would have been funny to Rey if she wasn't so distracted. Her heart hammered in her chest as she felt his presence. He was here; through the Bond, she could feel it. _Ben_...

"Get to the _Falcon_!" she ordered the others. "I'll hold him off!"

"Be careful!" Finn and Poe implored in unison.

"Come on!" Rose lifted the wires and boxes onto a hovercraft. "We'll take everything with us and fix Threepio on route!"

"Fix me? How dare you suggest such a thing, midget woman!" Threepio snapped, even as Chewbacca dodged his own weapon to lay the droid out with one punch and carry him from the hall.

Bursting out of the droid factory, the group split in two directions, with Rey taking one path. Force leaping onto the top of a nearby cliff, she spotted his TIE silencer... and Ben emerging from it, lightsaber ignited.

"Hello, my dear," he snarled.

Rey bristled. If that was the best he could do to woo her, he would be a bachelor for a really long time. Growling, she lunged at him, igniting Anakin's repaired lightsaber so that the blades clashed. Back and forth along the plateau they tapped, neither willing to yield. The physical exertion left Rey no room to block mind probes through their Bond, allowing her and Kylo to read each other like open books.

"I see you have found an ancient Sith artifact that may lead you to greater prizes," Kylo sneered.

"And what of it?" Rey bared her teeth. She prepared to block any thoughts regarding Endor... but to her surprise, Kylo showed no interest in this thread.

"A dagger," he mused, continuing his fixation on the blade. "A Sith knife, originating from the House of Serenno. The Count, to be precise."

"Count?" Rey blinked.

"Yes. And do you know who the last Count of Serenno was? The Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Tyrannus, also known as Count Dooku... your grandfather."

Rey staggered back in shock, barely missing a saber swipe, as through searching her feelings... she realized it to be true. Even as she cried out, "No! That's impossible! You said my parents were nobodies!"

"Yes," Kylo stated calmly. "I did. I didn't say anything about your grandparents. What I told you was true... from a certain point of view." And with that, Kylo Force pushed Rey off the cliff and fled in his Silencer. But before he disappeared, he sent one final message to Rey through the Bond:

_Your father renounced his birthright - a habit in your family. Go to Coruscant. You will understand why._ His tone did not sound deceptive; rather, it was almost like... he cared. Her mind in a fog, Rey returned to the _Falcon_, where the boys were waiting in the cockpit.

"You're safe!" Finn breathed in relief. "On to Endor?"

"Change of plans," Rey stated flatly. "We're going to Coruscant."

Poe nearly smacked his head on the ceiling consoles. "Coruscant? What the kriff for?"

Rey's gaze was solemn. "I need answers."


	2. Chapter 2: A Noble Woman of Royalty

**Chapter 2: A Noble Woman of Royalty**

That evening found Rey and her friends seated in the labyrinth of shelves that made up the Galactic Library and Archives on Coruscant. The building had once housed the Jedi Archives at the Jedi Temple complex here. Poe, Finn and a normal C3PO were leafing through tomes, shifting attention to any new ones that Rey and Rose passed down to them.

"It... it says here," Poe cleared his throat. "The House of Serenno was the royal family ruling the planet of the same name. The family monarchy was headed by a Count, the most recent of which was Count Dooku of Serenno. Upon his death in 19 BBY, the House of Serenno fell and the planet transferred to rule by military junta, eventually absorbed under Imperial rule."

Finn began flipping through pages in another volume. "Here! Count Dooku was a prestigious Jedi Knight during the days of the Republic, who renounced his birthright as Count of Serenno to join the Order. He would eventually leave the Jedi Order as one of the fabled Lost Twenty and fall to the Dark Side, becoming Darth Tyrannus - Dark Lord of the Sith - and assuming the title of Head of State for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He was a major player in the Clone Wars, laying the groundwork for Order 66 and the eradication of the Jedi."

Poe frowned. "But what does this have to do with you, Rey?"

Rey sighed as she closed another encyclopedia heavily. "Because that Count - Dooku or Tyrannus or whatever his name is? ... He's my grandfather."

Her friends gaped at her, stunned. "But, my dear," Threepio babbled, "that means... you're the rightful heir of the Serenno throne! A Countess!"

Poe's eyes gleamed. "Countess?"

Finn performed an over-the-top bow. "Your Ladyship... I grovel at your feet!" He took Rey's hand and kissed it.

"Stop it!" she frowned, retracting it. Poe and Finn just burst into laughter. Their best friend... royalty? The rightful ruler of some uppity system in the Outer Rim Territories? It was absurd!

"You both hush up!" Rose snapped, smacking Poe upside the head and jostling Finn. "Rey has a lot to process and you jackanapes are making fun of her! How would you feel Finn, if that was you?"

That made Finn take pause. Looking appropriately contrite, Rose placated him with a kiss. "So: what's this Lost Twenty deal?"

Finn flipped through more pages. "OK, OK, here we go: the Lost Twenty collectively refers to 20 individuals who voluntarily left the Jedi Order. One example is Jedi Padawan learner Ashoka Tano, who was expelled from the Order but then reinstated over a crime she did not commit. Another example is Jedi Master and eventual Dark Lord of the Sith Count Dooku, who renounced the Jedi over ideology and to reclaim his birthright as Count of Serenno."

Poe picked up reading from yet another manuscript. "Serenno is a prosperous world in the Outer Rim Territories. It has two moons, and lush forests and plains. The Castle of Serenno, which once housed the royal family, still stands."

"Hey, guys..." Rose said slowly. "You might wanna take a look at this."

She had managed to open a holographic projection that now rose out of the book Finn was reading about Dooku. Two men - one old, one young - were dueling with red and blue blades. Rey recognized the younger man from pictures. And also the handsome features she saw reflected in Ben.

"Anakin," she breathed.

Finally, Anakin cut off Dooku's hands so that the old man had to kneel before him. Another elderly man entered the frame and encouraged Anakin to behead Dooku, which the Jedi did. The recording winked out.

There was silence as the group glanced to each other. All eyes eventually fell to Rey's whose own orbs were glassy.

"Rey... is this about what we said? We were only teasing!" Poe insisted.

Rey sent him a watery smile. "It's not that. It's just that... my grandfather helped pave the way for the Empire. And Kylo's grandfather just finished the job!"

"What's your point?" the pilot frowned.

"My point is... what does that say about me?"

"_Nothing_!" Finn said fiercely, emphatically. "It doesn't matter the choices your ancestors made! Jedi or Sith - who cares what he was? It's who _you_ are, Rey and _your_ choices that matter. Countess or not... we'll still love you regardless."

Beaming through her tears, Rey hugged her friends.


	3. Chapter 3: House of Solo

**Chapter 3: House of Solo**

Purple flashes of light burst and clashed as Rey and Kylo's respective blue and red blades locked. Emperor Palpatine seemed to be in possession of Kylo Ren, forcing him and his complicated enemy into a fight to the death.

And unlike her other fights with him, this time Rey was losing. Badly.

At long last, Kylo's blade broke through Rey's defenses, slicing gashes in - but not cutting off - Rey's hands. Still, the wound caused her to yelp in pain and drop her lightsaber. Right away, Kylo summoned it and held both humming blades to her throat. Rey fell to her knees in subjugation. Palpatine cackled.

"Good, Kylo, good! ... Kill her. Kill her now. Do it!"

Right away, Rey recognized that twice already, fate had played out a similar tableau. The first was when she had been on her knees before this man she cared for, Snoke goading him to kill her. The second was their grandfathers, decades before, in this exact same position. Anakin had beheaded Dooku, and it looked like Ben would do the same to her. Rey shut her eyes, waiting for the end.

She felt the Force unexpectedly pull her to her feet. Maybe he wanted to murder her standing, like an equal. She opened her eyes to see Kylo switching the lightsabers off, keeping them away from her neck. Then, grabbing her by the upper arms, Ben pulled her close...

... and kissed Rey full on the mouth.

Rey's eyes instantly bulged and she let out a surprised squeak, stiffening in his unexpectedly warm embrace. And then -

She _moaned_. "Mmmm? Hmmm... Mmhmmmm..." Rey sank into the kiss in swooning acceptance, closing her eyes with a flutter and splaying her arms across his shoulders, into his hair, as she kissed him back. Ben threw away the lightsabers he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Rey clear off her feet. Her legs dangled in the air, and she had no choice but to fold them lovingly about his waist. Their tongues found each other eagerly and danced, the lovers lost in their own world. True Love's First Kiss...

Cutting through the bliss was Palpatine's scream of outrage, but Rey and Ben simply threw out the Force and repelled him, from the ruins and out into the atmosphere, not once breaking the kiss. At long last, they tenderly broke apart, their arms still around each other, foreheads touching and panting. Ben lovingly nuzzled his nose against Rey's.

"Ready to claim your birthright?" he asked her.

"What if they don't like me? Or believe me?"

Ben grinned. "Not possible." And he kissed her lips sweetly again.

* * *

The flower petals floated down everywhere amidst the cheering crowd, as the Palace Crier announced, "Presenting Ben Solo, Crown Prince of Alderaan, Crown Prince of Naboo, and Rey Solo, Countess of Serenno!"

Newly married, the happy couple of Force users ran into the crowd of well wishers. Rey, the blushing bride, was further moved by the happiness and love from her people. When she and Ben had first arrived at Serenno, Rey had been subject to a DNA test to prove her lineage. The results came back positive that she was the granddaughter of Count Dooku.

Rey and Ben's wedding night was full of heat and pain with Ben moaning as he hovered over her, his breath heavy in her ear. "Don't be afraid. I love you!"

The royal couple lived in the Castle of Serenno, where Rey soon fell pregnant and gave birth to many children. And there Rey and Ben Solo lived happily ever after.


End file.
